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Audi racing director Allan McNish said the teamâs Austrian Grand Prix weekend was its âbestâ of the season so far, despite missing the points again after Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg finished 11th and 12th at the Red Bull Ring. McNish said: "To be honest, I think it was our best weekend so far in terms of all the runs through Free Practice, Qualifying, race, getting the maximum out of the car. Performance around this circuit was always going to be a little bit trickier, although we brought the upgrades, and they actually tallied up pretty well. But the VCARBs were quicker. End of story. So both Gabi and Nico, I thought, drove very, very well."
The FIA stewards decided not to penalise Cadillacâs Sergio Perez for moving on the grid before the start signal at the Austrian Grand Prix because he had already retired, meaning any five-second time penalty would have had no effect and would not convert into a grid drop for the next race. In their decision, the stewards said: âit does not seem appropriate to apply any time penaltyâ and âdecide not to impose any penaltyâ.
Sergio Perez said Cadillacâs double retirement with brake overheating at the Austrian Grand Prix was âtotally unacceptableâ, describing Spielberg as his âworst weekendâ so far in 2026. Perez said: "I think we underestimated the effect of traffic. We've been having issues all weekend â I think it's been the worst weekend. It feels like we took four or five steps backwards. So there needs to be a massive process, thinking on how we're doing things, especially when it comes to upgrades, because today what happened was totally unacceptable and very unfortunate as well for the team."
McLaren technical director of engineering Neil Houldey said the team did not use its experimental âMacarenaâ-style rear wing at the Austrian Grand Prix because it failed further tests McLaren needed to complete before signing it off to run on track. Houldey said: "When it arrived, we did some further testing that we knew we had to do to sign it off before it was able to run. Unfortunately, it didn't pass the tests we needed to complete, so we're sending it back and we're going to delay that. We'll try and run it when we've next got some fixes that we need to put in place."
Andrea Stella says most of McLarenâs three-to-four-tenths gap to Mercedes is coming through the corners because Mercedesâ car generates more downforce, and that McLaren needs to minimise drag on its MCL40 while working closely with Mercedes HPP on power-unit exploitation. Stella said: "When it comes to our gap to Mercedes, it's always been between three and four tenths; it comes in the corners predominantly, probably 70% in the corners and 30% on the straights. In the corners, it is very clear why that is the case. It is a fact that their car generates more downforce than our car. The only thing I know is which is under our control is that we need to minimise the drag on the MCL40... while we keep a very tight collaboration with HPP."
Isack Hadjar said he was âtoo kindâ to Lewis Hamilton when they went wheel-to-wheel during the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring. Hadjar said: "It was just cool. There was nothing that I necessarily learned, but maybe I was a bit too kind to Lewis into Turn 4. I don't remember a race in my career where I fought with the big boys, like the Ferrari and the McLaren, so that was good fun. That was a first, and I think we succeeded quite well."
McLaren chief executive Zak Brown says he would be âvery surprisedâ if Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri left the team, amid rumours about Max Verstappenâs future at Red Bull. Brown said: "Well, I'd be very surprised if Oscar or Lando went elsewhere as they are very happy. You know, we've got contracts but even contracts aside, they are very happy here and we are very happy with them. If for some strange reason, someone slipped on a banana peel getting out of the tub then yeah, of course, Max is a four-time World Champion."
Lewis Hamilton says Ferrari need to investigate why their energy deployment âtails offâ compared to Mercedes after the Austrian Grand Prix. Hamilton said: "Ours tails off, and particularly Mercedes, they just keep going. So we've got to look at why and how we can improve that. But that's not going to come for a while."
Charles Leclerc admitted he does not yet have a clear picture of what he wants from Ferrariâs SF-26 after another difficult race at the Austrian Grand Prix, where he dropped from second on the grid to eighth at the finish. Charles Leclerc said: "It was just an incredibly difficult race, with very, very low grip overall. I just struggled to get the car, and especially the tyres, into the right window, particularly the rears, and was just missing a lot of rear grip. But at the moment, there's always a reason why there's a struggle, and that probably means I don't really have a clear picture of what I want from this car. And, yeah, I've got to find that."
George Russell said his Austrian Grand Prix win did not feel âcold-bloodedâ after Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff described it that way, insisting it was a calm, controlled drive despite pressure from Max Verstappen. Russell said: "It didn't quite feel like that, to be honest. It felt a really calm and controlled race. But with the upgrades on the Red Bull, Max was in the fight for pole yesterday, really great race pace from him today. He pressured me in the middle stint and forced me to stop with 28 laps remaining, which was quite uncomfortable."
Max Verstappen says Red Bull still has âtoo many issuesâ to fight for the Formula 1 title, despite his close second place to George Russell at the Austrian Grand Prix. Verstappen said: "We still have too many issues. If that's from a start to just procedural issues in the background, that I think you guys don't know about, but I know about. It's not a big criticism, I think everyone is aware. But we always want to be better, we chase to be the best. So, we just need to focus on all of those things."
Carlos Sainz says âeveryone is scratching their headsâ at how Formula 1âs biggest teams can keep introducing upgrades within the budget cap, echoing Fernando Alonsoâs remarks in Austria. Sainz said: "It is not only Williams. If you look at any other team, I think everyone is scratching their heads at how the top teams manage to do what they've done this year. And you look at the last five races, no one is bringing more upgrades than the top teams, so this is still impressive what they're able to do."
Lewis Hamilton says Ferrari must keep pushing to develop its power unit after describing his fifth place at the Austrian Grand Prix as a âreality checkâ, following his first Ferrari win in Barcelona. Hamilton said: "I think it's more of a reality check. But in Austria, I think we were hit more with reality, which is that, we still do have a good car, but we are down compared to Mercedes, just on outright pace. They just are quicker, and we still have to keep developing. It doesn't mean we can't close that gap... We still have to continue to add performance to the car, particularly power, which is where we're going to have to keep working and pushing."
Jenson Button says Lewis Hamilton will head into this weekendâs British Grand Prix at Silverstone with âconfidenceâ and a chance of victory, despite slipping from third on the grid to fifth at the Austrian Grand Prix. Button said: "Lewis is definitely arriving with confidence. It didn't go his way in the last race, but it wasn't down to him. The package just wasn't there. He won't be happy with the result, but he'll know he got the maximum out of it. I think I'll be confident coming in that he's got a chance for the victory."
Max Verstappen says Red Bull needs to understand why the rear of his car suddenly felt âoffâ from the middle of the Austrian Grand Prix, after he felt competitive in the first half of the race. Verstappen said: "I do think that the first half of the race, we were more competitive, because for whatever reason in the second half, something felt off on the rear of the car, where everything was just extremely difficult, from bumps, kerbs, traction, it was just completely gone. So that's something that we need to understand again, what went wrong there."
Adrian Newey says Aston Martinâs âpatched and bodgedâ tools and processes were ânot fit for purposeâ as he explained the structural issues behind the teamâs troubled 2026 season. Newey said: "We were relying on tools and processes that had been patched and bodged for years â you could trace some of them right back to the very early days of the Jordan team that was based here in Silverstone, long before Aston Martin returned to the grid. At some point, a system that's just patchâonâpatch stops being fit for purpose. That's where we had got to. The result was a very frustrating car build."
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says the new power unit components fitted in Austria were not performance upgrades and that there is currently no engine upgrade planned. Wolff said: "No, they were just new power units. With that comes less mileage, comes a little bit more spiciness. But there was no upgrade in it, and at the moment there's no upgrade planned."
Adrian Newey says Aston Martinâs late start on its 2026 car left the team âseveral months behindâ rivals, and that the Australian Grand Prix was a âwake-up callâ after power unit problems meant its first proper running came in final practice. Newey said: "We didn't start serious work on the '26 car until mid-March 2025 and didn't get a model into the wind tunnel until midâApril. That left us several months behind our rivals â and that's a huge gap to close. Melbourne was the wakeâup call. Because of various power unit challenges, our first proper running was actually Free Practice Three at the Australian Grand Prix."
Aston Martin boss Adrian Newey says the teamâs upgrade package planned for the Hungarian Grand Prix could be enough to persuade Fernando Alonso to stay for the 2027 Formula 1 season. Newey said: "Fernando is really looking forward to the upgrade and, if it performs, we hope he'll be in the cockpit for another season. But he wants to see clear, tangible progress. If we can show that we're moving decisively in the right direction, he's absolutely committed to being behind the wheel."
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